Daniel Rivera's Page

Webpage for Daniel Rivera: Networking Student and Tutor

About Me

Weekly Routine

During the day, I am a tutor for MAT1033 and MAC1105 at Miami Dade College. In the evenings, I am a student at Miami Dade College studying computer networking. On the weekends, I serve at my local church. You can usually find me playing electric guitar or keyboard on a typical Sunday service. When there is a free moment I am pursuing projects that involve computer programming, scripting, reparing and constructing hardware, and trying to perfect the command line :).

Education

Data analytics was my previous major, now studying information technology (specifically networking). I have taken a liking in becoming a power user of computers. Most people use a computer to check their email and surf the web, but my uses are rather different. I enjoy using GNU/Linux in the command line, and learning all of the unix commands associated with it. I am running Debian on my Thinkpad X250, and have tried more distributions than anyone ever should on a single laptop. I am hosting this website server with Debian and nginx, which has not been an easy feat. I have been using Linux since April 2021, and I am still getting comfortable with it. In the future, I would like to own a data center for my own use, business rental, and just because I enjoy rackmounted equipment (both in audio and servers).

Interests

Growing up in a family of musicians, music was always important to me. I would listen to just about any genre of music. Currently, I am playing with two different worship groups, and enjoy the group dynamic in worship music. My electric guitar rig consists of an 2004 American Stratocaster, Squire J Mascis Jazzmaster, a custom built pedalboard, and a Deluxe Reverb amp.

I enjoy many different genres of music, but mostly enjoying listening to Caribbean Latin music. Salsa, merengue, son, bachata are some of my favorite types of music from where I'm from. Any music that contains guitar fascinates me, most recentley being jibaro or bachata.

Theology

In addition to my parents being musicians, they are second generation pastors. Growing up in church exposed me to Christianity, but I can proudly say that my religion is strengthened by seeking God on my own. I am deeply interested in theology and the pursuit of God's word from an academic perspective. It is important to experience the love that God offers us as believers, but I strengthen my faith through the word and reminding myself of the promises that he made to us. There were times when I questioned my calling in God's kingdom, but the Lord has been faithful and answered my prayers. My role in my current circumstance is to serve others in every area of ministry (I consider being on the worship team and teaching to be ministries). One area which I have reaped the benefits from and would like to actively pursue is mentorship. I have had many great mentors for the many trying seasons in my life, and I want to pay it back to younger kids. Ever since I started tutoring, I have noticed the desire I have to help the younger generation succeed in life with confidence and with the right information in hand.

My favorite scriptures (mostly the ones that helped in my spiritual maturity) are Romans 12 and 8, Ephesians 5, 2 Corinthians 9, Phillipians 4, and Psalm 128 to name a few. I want to know more of the Bible each day, especially being able to read into nuances that are embedded in the word. Hopefully, I will be able to memorize many biblical events and their scriptural counterparts. The versions I typically read are the NLT, Amplified, and ESV versions; but I am currently reading a NIV journal bible with gives me plenty of room to write notes. Also, the original Hebrew and Greek meanings and translations have always fascinated me. I suggest checking out 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. I enjoy looking deeper into the meaning of the original text, especially with the Greek found in the New Testament.